I decided to do some spring cleaning and finally go through some of the old papers I had accumulated.  I have to confess, this is long past due.  I also tend to keep cards, letters and old movie stubs.  Why?  I guess I am just sentimental.  If I was a more organized person, I would put them in a scrapbook so they would at least be in some semblance of order.  As it is, every now and then I come across something from long ago, usually during a yearly purge session that brings a smile to my face.  It’s kind of like Christmas or going on an Easter Egg Hunt.  There is just an unexpected gift that makes my day.

The other day, while doing this purge, I came across an old love letter from a previous flame.  The letter that he wrote was written when our relationship was new and we were both unsure of what the future held, and if we should even proceed with a relationship.  In this letter he said some things that were very meaningful, that I’d like to share with you.

“I know we have the chance to have something special together.  I no longer question that.  In order to reach that, however, there is some risk involved and in this case, the risk is huge.  The more you are willing to risk, the bigger the reward will be.”

He was right.  What we had was special, and the risk was huge.  I risked my heart getting broke if it didn’t work out, as did he.  The relationship changed dramatically over the years, and my heart took a beating.  It may not have broken, but it did get battered and bruised.  Would I do it again?  Absolutely!  While the relationship didn’t work out, I have some great memories and learned some things both about life and myself.  But if I had never taken the risk of giving the relationship a chance to grow, I would have missed out on those five years.

There were some other things in that letter, but I’m afraid they will remain private.  😉   I should probably throw out the letter, but I won’t.  When I sat there on that rainy day, and re-read what my old flame had written it made me smile, and reminded me of days filled with laughter and nights of love.  In re-reading that old letter, I was able to look past the nasty breakup we had and instead remember why we had fallen in love to begin with.  By this I mean when I think of this person now, I won’t think of the final time we had contact, the bitter words we spoke, or think of this person with anger over how things ended.  Instead I’ll remember his words from this letter, and genuinely be able to look back on the relationship and remember the good times too.  In re-reading that old letter, it did remind me that we had some truly awesome times.  There are some memories that I will always treasure from my time with him.

Some may say it’s better to just throw out all things from the past but I don’t agree.  I’m not saying you should live in the past, but to revisit it once in a while, and reflect upon it isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  As a matter of fact, I think it’s pretty healthy.  You can learn a lot from the past.   This old letter made me smile on a rainy day and once again reminded me that you have to be willing to risk you heart to get that great reward of love.

This blog was written previously and added for content.